Digitalway MPIO FL 300

Is there room for an almost-weightless, flash-based digital audio player now that the iPod shuffle is in the house? The matchbook-size Digitalway MPIO FL 300 tempts us to say yes. With its bright chrome exterior, mirrored top surface, and barely noticeable buttons, it's sleek and stylish, a 1-ounce musical bauble for your commute or workout. But its missing features and so-so audio quality temper our enthusiasm.

Harmonic distortion is present in every part of the FL 300's audio spectrum. Although the distortion is fairly minimal, it lends a veiled aspect to the player's tone. Frequency response falls off at both extremes—bass tones aren't convincing, and the player runs out of breath at 15 KHz. Presets vary the tone greatly and are useful in coaxing better apparent performance from the player. The player also features effects that change the psychoacoustic ambience of the music. A couple, such as Studio and Dynamic Bass, are interesting, but others, such as Groove and Concert Hall, just muddy up the sound. The voice-recording feature is an unexpected touch and recordings are clear.

Likewise, the elapsed time/time remaining display is useful. We've generally found white-on-black displays to be more legible than the more usual black-on-white on these smallest players, and the FL 300's two-line display is very readable. And unlike the iPod shuffle, it actually has a display. The user interface is simple, because the player doesn't do much other than play your music. It has a hierarchical file system, and you can organize your songs into folders.

The USB 1.1 interface slows down file transfers, but as the FL 300 has only a 128MB or 256MB capacity, a fresh load of music doesn't take all that long to load. The player is a USB mass-storage device and therefore needs no drivers or special software; you can drag and drop songs and folders to it with normal Windows tools or your favorite music-management software. You can use the FL 300 as a flash drive too, but you'll have to carry the proprietary adapter that converts a standard USB connector to an extra-long 1/8 inch plug that makes the USB connection inside the device. Alas, the adapter is nearly as large as the player.

While the FL 300 would not be our first choice among flash players, it's cute and easy to use.